India's biggest flop, made in Rs 45 crore, earned just Rs 38000 on opening day; not Adipurush, Bombay Velvet, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, Kalank

From Adipurush starring Prabhas, Kriti Sanon, Saif Ali Khan to Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff's Bade Miyan Chote Miyan to Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, and Karan Johar-starrer Bombay Vevet to Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt, Madhuri Dixit, Sanjay Dutt, Sonakshi Sinha, and Aditya Roy Kapur's Kalank, Bollywood has seen several big-budget films that, despite earning crores, ended up losing massive sums at the box office.

However, one film stands out as the biggest flop in Indian cinema history, failing to earn even Rs 1 lakh during its entire theatrical run. That film is The Lady Killer, starring Arjun Kapoor and Bhumi Pednekar, which released on November 3, 2023. Directed by Ajay Bahl, who had previosuly made BA Pass, Section 375, and Blurr, the crime thriller suffered a troubled production.

The Lady Killer is India's biggest flop

Reportedly made on a budget of Rs 45 crore, The Lady Killer never completed its shooting schedule after numerous production delays and budget overruns. The film was quietly released, while it was still incomplete, in just around a dozen theatres across India. Adding to its downfall, the director and lead actors refused to promote the crime thriller before its release. On its opening day, the Arjun, Bhumi-starrer sold only 293 tickets, earning a mere Rs 38,000. Its total lifetime collection couldn't even cross Rs 1 lakh, making it as India's most disastrous box office failure.

Why The Lady Killer was released in only 12 theatres in India?

As the makers had a contractual agreement with Netflix for its OTT release in December, and to fulfill the required 4–6 week theatrical window prior to streaming, The Lady Killer was given a limited theatrical release. However, after its poor theatrical run, Netflix cancelled its OTT release and no other platform acquired its streaming rights. Ultimately, the makers released the full film on T-Series' YouTube channel in September 2024.

READ | Meet Hrithik Roshan's sister Sunaina Roshan, had 2 failed marriages, got addicted to alcohol, was diagnosed with cancer, then...